N. Korean Military Chief at Army Exercises in Cuba
Wed Nov 24, 2004 08:58 PM ET

HAVANA (Reuters) - North Korea's army chief of staff, Vice Marshal Kim Yong-Chun, toured Cuban army units and observed training exercises during a five-day visit to Cuba, Cuban state media said on Wednesday.
State television showed Kim watching Cuban soldiers firing rifles during infantry exercises.

Cuba and North Korea are "in the front trench of the fight against North American imperialism and for the defense of socialism," Kim said in statements published by Cuba's ruling Communist Party daily, Granma.

Kim praised Cuba for its resolve in "resisting threats of aggression" from the Bush administration, Granma said.

Washington last year stepped up enforcement of financial sanctions against Cuba and increased support for dissent, seeking to undermine President Fidel Castro's government.

The North Korean military chief, who will be in Cuba until Saturday, held meetings with his Cuban counterpart, Gen. Alvaro Lopez Miera, the deputy defense minister and army chief of staff, Granma said.

Kim was expected to meet with Defense Minister Raul Castro, the younger brother of the Cuban president and the second man in the government hierarchy.

North Korea and Cuba are two of the five last communist-run nations in the world, along with China, Vietnam and Laos.

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